Photo by Christopher Butcher
Want to try reading comics? Don’t know where to start? Want to try something different?
Wednesday is New Comics Day! Each week, The Comics Observer spotlights up to three brand new releases worthy of your consideration. All of these have been carefully selected as best bets for someone who has never read comic books, graphic novels or manga before. They each highlight the variety and creativity being produced today. These are also great for those that haven’t read comics in awhile or regular readers looking to try something new.
While we can’t guarantee you’ll like what we’ve picked, we truly believe there’s a comic for everyone. If you like the images and descriptions below, click the links to see previews and learn more about them. You can often buy straight from the publishers or creators. If not, head over to your local comic book store, check out online retailers like Things From Another World and Amazon, or download a copy at comiXology, or the comics and graphic novels sections of the Kindle Store or NOOK store. Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook.
For a full list of this week’s new releases, see comiXology, ComicList.com and PREVIEWSworld.
(Please note these aren’t reviews. Recommendations are based on pre-release buzz, previews, and The Comics Observer‘s patented crystal ball. Product descriptions provided by publisher.)
Hand-Drying in America by Ben Katchor
Hand-Drying in America and Other Stories
Written and illustrated by Ben Katchor
Published by Pantheon Books
Genre: Surrealist
Ages: 16+
160 pages
$29.95
“Sublimely caustic…brilliant, darkly magical new collection.” — Publishers Weekly
From one of the most original and imaginative American cartoonists at work today comes a collection of graphic narratives on the subjects of urban planning, product design, and architecture — a surrealist handbook for the rebuilding of society in the twenty-first century.
Ben Katchor, a master at twisting mundane commodities into surreal objects of social significance, now takes on the many ways our property influences and reflects cultural values. Here are window-ledge pillows designed expressly for people-watching and a forest of artificial trees for sufferers of hay fever. The Brotherhood of Immaculate Consumption deals with the matter of products that outlive their owners; a school of dance is based upon the choreographic motion of paying with cash; high-visibility construction vests are marketed to lonely people as a method of getting noticed. With cutting wit Katchor reveals a world similar to our own — lives are defined by possessions, consumerism is a kind of spirituality — but also slightly, fabulously askew. Frequently and brilliantly bizarre, and always mesmerizing, Hand-Drying in America ensures that you will never look at a building, a bar of soap, or an ATM the same way.
Hair Shirt by Patrick McEown
Hair Shirt
Written and illustrated by Pat McEown
Published by SelfMadeHero
Genre: Fiction
Ages: 16+
128 pages
$24.95
“Hair.shirt: n. a shirt of haircloth formerly worn by ascetics and penitents”
John and Naomi were childhood sweethearts — and then they grew up. Life took them on very different paths, but accidents will happen. When their two lives intersect again, they decide to have another go at love. But this is no simple romantic rekindling: Both John and Naomi are wearing the hairshirts of miserable memories and dark nightmares, which may be too painful to shed, even if they hold each other tight again. Their terrible struggle is powerfully represented in beautifully nuanced art that reflects a soulless city, troubled love, and tense aimlessness.
McEown is an Eisner Award-winning Canadian artist who has worked with many leading figures including Mike Mignola.
“One of Canada’s most gifted comics creators, working here at a new peak of his powers” – Paul Gravett
Native American Classics, edited by Tom Pomplun, John Smelcer and Joseph Bruchac
Native American Classics
Written and illustrated by various creators
Edited by Tom Pomplun, Dr. John Smelcer and Joseph Bruchac
Published by Eureka Productions
Genre: Mythology
Ages: 8+
144 pages
$17.95
Native American Classics presents great stories and poems from America’s earliest writers. Featured are “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” by Zitkala-Sa, “On Wolf Mountain” by Charles Eastman, “How the White Race Came to America” by Handsome Lake, and seven more tales of humor and tragedy. Also eight poems, including Alex Posey’s “Wildcat Bill” and E. Pauline Johnson’s “The Cattle Thief”.
